White House tries to tamp down corporate panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul

Source: Politico

09/20/2025 12:42 PM EDTUpdated: 09/20/2025 04:42 PM EDT


President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee for high-skill visa holders only applies to new applicants — not current visa holders who may be on travel outside of the U.S. — according to the White House. The president’s H-1B announcement on Friday immediately spurred chaos, with companies and immigration lawyers warning travelers to return to the U.S. before midnight on Sunday, when the new policy is scheduled to kick in.

The text of the presidential proclamation signed on Friday does not make this distinction between existing visa-holders and future applicants clear, according to immigration lawyers, and the administration has not released additional formal guidance beyond the proclamation text. According to the proclamation, the secretary of Homeland Security will “restrict decisions on petitions” lacking the new fee for H-1B workers “who are currently outside the United States.”

The White House said Sunday that corporate lawyers and “others with agendas are creating a lot of FAKE NEWS” around the proclamation, and said it does not apply to anyone with a current visa, and only affects future applicants in the February lottery who are outside of the U.S.

A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the policy, pointed to language in the proclamation that says “aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000” — meaning the payment is only required for new filings, not current visa holders.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/20/donald-trump-h1b-visas-overhaul-00574345